The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) bill 2024 sponsored by Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei has suffered a major blow after it was knocked out following a massive rejection by Kenyans.
The bill which envisaged a scenario where the term limits of elected leaders right from the Members of the County Assemblies (MCAs) to the President was increased to seven years, collapsed after the senate said 99.99 per cent of Kenyans disapproved of it in its entirety.
“The voice of the Kenyan people has been unequivocal. Out of 168,801 submissions received, only eleven stakeholders provided specific comments on the bill’s clauses, while the rest overwhelmingly rejected the proposed amendments. During our public hearing at the KICC Amphitheater on October 25, we witnessed an unprecedented show of unity among Kenyans, save for one stakeholder, every single presenter urged the committee to reject this bill in its entirety,” the Senate Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights Chairperson Hillary Sigei said.
Wasted resources
Sigei who is also the senator of Bomet County indicated that parliament should ensure that stricter measures are adopted before bills are printed out, considered and subjected to public participation.
He observed that the Kenyans had lost money spent on public participation for a bill which had no support. This came after Cheragei joked that 60 per cent of Kenyans were in support of the term extensions while 40 per cent were against it.
“We recommend that the Senate adopt stronger vetting mechanisms for constitutional amendment bills. Specifically, we are calling for a requirement of at least fifteen senators’ signatures in support of any such proposal before it can be published as a bill,” Sigei said.
Adding: “Subjecting bills to public participation incurs significant costs for Parliament. We must establish a proper sieving mechanism to ensure that proposals have reasonable support before advancing to this stage.”
Term limit bill lifeline
However, Cherargei still has a lifeline with the term limit extension bill despite the senate committee declaring it dead. According to Senate procedures, if Cherargei gets a senator to second the bill and marshal sufficient senators, the bill could still proceed to the second reading stage.
The ruling party UDA has called out its members against associating with the controversial bill, noting that it goes against the founding principles of the political outfit.
“The party, therefore, disassociates itself from the repugnant and backward bill and calls any of its rank and file who leads, supports or is, in any manner whatsoever, involved with it, to order,” United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Secretary-General Omar Hassan said on October 3, 2024.
